Gown system

ABSTRACT

A gown dispenser system has a plurality of gowns, each having a back region, the gowns folded and stacked back region facing up, such that, pulling on the back region of a gown on top of the stack removes that gown from the stack and exposes the back region of the next gown in the stack, an enclosure containing the stack of gowns, the enclosure having an opening exposing the back region of the gown at the top of the stack, enabling a user to grasp the exposed back region and pull the topmost gown from the enclosure, exposing the next gown in the stack, and an interface mechanism attached to the enclosure, enabling the enclosure to be suspended on a substantially vertical surface, with the opening facing outward from the substantially vertical surface. Gowns are drawn from the enclosure one-at-a-time, at need.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED DOCUMENTS

The present patent application is a divisional application of co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 15/467,242, filed Mar. 23, 2017, which claimspriority to provisional application 62/316,983, filed on Apr. 1, 2016,entitled, “Gown System”. Disclosure of the priority applications isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention is in the technical area of dispensing items, such asgarments, and has particular application in sanitation in medicalpractice, and pertains in one embodiment more particularly to providinghospital gowns to medical staff.

2. Description of Related Art

In many technical arts, disposable items are provided for temporary use.Many examples may be listed, such as gloves in both medical and foodarts, aprons in food arts, and sanitary gowns in medical environments.Medical practice is a particular, but not a limiting focus, forapplications of the instant invention, and is used exemplary below todescribe specific examples as embodiments of the present invention.

It is often necessary in medical practice for a physician, nurse orother medical practitioner to quickly don a hospital gown beforeentering a sanitary area. The present invention provides a quick andpractical solution to this need.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, a gown dispenser system isprovided, comprising a plurality of gowns, each having a back region,the gowns folded and stacked back region facing up, such that, pullingon the back region of a gown on top of the stack removes that gown fromthe stack and exposes the back region of the next gown in the stack, anenclosure containing the stack of gowns, the enclosure having an openingin one surface exposing the back region of the gown at the top of thestack, enabling a user to grasp the exposed back region and pull thetopmost gown from the enclosure, exposing the next gown in the stack,and an interface mechanism attached to the enclosure, enabling theenclosure to be suspended on a substantially vertical surface, with theopening facing outward from the substantially vertical surface. Gownsare drawn from the enclosure one-at-a-time, at need.

In one embodiment, a pull tab is attached to the back region of eachgown in the stack, providing an appendage to be grasped to pull a gownfrom the enclosure. Also in one embodiment of the system, the enclosureis implemented in paperboard, with a portion of the paperboard on theone surface of the enclosure perforated in a shape to provide theopening, with the paperboard within the perforated region removed. Alsoin one embodiment, the interface mechanism comprises one or morebrackets attached to a side of the container opposite the sideperforated for the opening, the brackets configured to enable hangingthe container from a top edge of a door. In one embodiment, each gown,unfolded, comprises an upper portion having a front region and the backregion, a left and a right sleeve, each of a length to cover an arm of aperson, and an upper head opening, the back region extending to a lowerextremity of the left and right sleeves, and a front apron portion,having a width from the left to the right sleeve, extending downwardfrom the upper portion for a height to cover a major portion of aperson's body below the extension of the left and right sleeves. In oneembodiment, the front portion has tie extensions extending horizontallyfrom opposite edges of the front portion, at a height for tying thefront portion of the gown around the body of a user. And in oneembodiment the gowns are folded by folding the left and right sleeves tothe front along edges of the front portion, and a lower part of thefront portion upward to the front along a substantially horizontal line,leaving the tab free at the back of the upper portion of the foldedgown.

In another aspect of the invention, a method for providing a gown to auser from a gown-dispensing system is provided, comprising folding aplurality of gowns having a back region of each gown in a stack with theback region facing up, and placing the gowns in an enclosure having afront and a back surface, the back surface having an opening exposingthe back region of the top-most gown on the stack, supporting theenclosure on a substantially vertical surface by an interface mechanismwith the opening in the back surface facing away from the substantiallyvertical surface, grasping the back region by a user and pulling atopmost gown out through the opening in the back surface, leaving a nextgown in the stack having the pull tab exposed through the opening, anddonning the gown. In one embodiment of the method a pull tab is attachedto the back region of each gown in the stack, and the pull tab isgrasped to pull a gown from the enclosure.

In one embodiment of the method, each gown in the stack has an upperportion having a front region and the back region, a left and a rightsleeve, each of a length to cover an arm of a person, and an upper headopening, the back region extending to a lower extremity of the left andright sleeves, a front apron portion, having a width from the left tothe right sleeve, extending downward from the upper portion for a heightto cover a major portion of a person's body below the extension of theleft and right sleeves, and the gowns are folded by folding the left andright sleeves to the front along edges of the front portion, and foldinga lower part of the front portion upward to the front along asubstantially horizontal line, leaving the back region free at the backof the upper portion of the folded gown, and the method furthercomprises the user pulling the upper portion over the user's head andplacing the head through the upper head opening, and the user steppingback away from the enclosure, pulling the balance of the gown from theenclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an illustration of a hospital gown in an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 1B is an illustration of the gown of FIG. 1A folded.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a dispenser for providing folded gownsone-at-a-time to users.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the dispenser of FIG. 2 hung on a door.

FIG. 4A is an illustration showing a person about to draw a gown fromthe dispenser of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4B is an illustration illustrating a second step in withdrawing agown from the dispenser.

FIG. 4C is an illustration of a third step in withdrawing a gown fromthe dispenser.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1A is an illustration of a hospital gown 100 in an embodiment ofthe invention. In this view, the gown is fully deployed (not folded) andis viewed from the back of the gown. Gown 100 has a contiguous upperportion 103 that applies over a user's shoulders, with an opening 104for the user's head, and has a left arm portion 101 and a right armportion 102. It will be apparent to the skilled person that, as shown inFIG. 1B, upper portion 103 and arm portions 101 and 102 have two layers,to fit over the shoulders, front and back, and to cover the arms whenthe gown is worn.

Upper portion 103 has an extension 106, extending from the layer ofportion 103 to the back of the gown, which serves as a pull-tab indeploying the gown for use, as is described in enabling detail below. Asingle layer lower portion 105 extends below the upper portion to alowermost extremity, and is contiguous with the front of upper portion103. If one were to grasp tab 106 and pull in the direction out of thefigure, upper portion 103 would open, presenting opening 104 for theuser's head, and the gown could be donned by pulling upper portion 103over the head, and down so the user's head passes through opening 104,which would leave lower portion 105 to the user's front.

Gown 100 further comprises two extensions as tie-tabs 107 and 108,laterally to each side in FIG. 1A. These tie-tabs act as ties once theuser dons the gown, to tie lower portion 105 around the user's torso.Further, FIG. 1A illustrates fold lines 109, 110, and 111, which arelines along which the gown may be folded to be placed in a dispenser inan embodiment of the invention described in enabling detail below.

FIG. 1B is an illustration of gown 100 of FIG. 1A folded along foldlines 109, 110 and 111. Each of tie-tabs 107 and 108 has a fold line atthe edge of lower portion 105, but these fold lines are not shown inFIG. 1A. Sleeves 101 and 102 are folded along fold lines 109 and 110respectively, to the front (into the plane of the figure), to lieagainst the front of the gown as shown in FIG. 1B. Tie-abs 107 and 108are also folded to the front to lie against the front of the gown.Lastly the portion of the gown below fold line 111 is also folded up tothe front along fold line 111, to lie against the front of the gown.After these operations, the folded gown is as seen in FIG. 1B.

In alternative embodiments, the tie-tabs might be in different positionson a gown, and in one embodiment two tie-tabs may be joined to the gownon the same side. The position, length, and use of the tie-tabs in tieson a gown after the gown is donned is related to specific practice inparticular circumstances, and the tie-tabs are not limiting in theirposition, length and the like.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a dispenser 201 for providing folded gownsone-at-a-time to users. Dispenser 201 comprises a container 202 with oneor more interfaces 203 for suspending the container from a verticalsurface, such as a wall or a doorway. A plurality of folded gowns,folded according to FIG. 1B in one embodiment, is enclosed in a stack incontainer 202. Container 202 has an opening 204 on one major surface forallowing gowns to be presented to users, and for gowns to be withdrawnand donned by users.

It is emphasized that mounting on a vertical surface, such as a wall ora doorway, is a convenience and an option, not a limitation in theinvention. In some cases, a dispenser may be mounted to a chair back,simply placed on a table or other supporting surface, or provided inmany other ways. The important issue is that a user must be able toaccess a gown from the dispenser and don the gown in a sanitary fashion.

A stack of folded gowns within container 202 is positioned such that,when opening 204 is provided, in a manner described below, tab 106 of atopmost gown in the stack is presented, and is physically accessible toa user, such that the user may grasp the tab and pull, to at leastpartially dispense the connected gown from the container. The neckopening 104 of the topmost folded gown in the stack of gowns incontainer 202 is seen in dotted outline in FIG. 2.

In some embodiments of the invention it is important to certain personsto know when there is a limited number of gowns left in the dispenser.For this purpose, in one embodiment, the last few gowns in a dispensercontainer, for example the last five, may have a specific indicator,like a red dot, or other visible indicia, so users know there are only alimited supply left. In one embodiment radio-frequency identification(RFID) may be used to track the number of gowns in a container, and toalert when the number falls to a critical number. In this method,electronically-discoverable tags are attached, one to each gown. RFIDuses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track the tagsattached to gowns. The tags contain electronically stored information.Passive tags collect energy from a nearby RFID reader's interrogatingradio waves. In such an embodiment, the RFID reader may be a part of thecontainer, or placed near the container, and may have a transmitter tosend an alert to an external device, which may be as simple as a cellphone of a person responsible for being sure gowns are available.

Container 202 may be constructed of a variety of materials, such asplastic, but in one embodiment a preferred material is paperboard of athickness and strength to maintain its shape when handled, and when hungon a door or a wall. In various embodiments opening 204 may be shapeddifferently than shown in FIG. 2, and some shapes may facilitate feedingof individual gowns from the container. In addition, interfaces 203 maybe provided in a variety of ways.

In one embodiment, wherein container 202 is constructed of paperboard,opening 204 is closed, but the outline seen in FIG. 2 is perforated inthe material of the container, such that a user may remove the coveringover the opening, presenting gowns accessible through the opening.

In an alternative embodiment, a separate outside container or supportstructure may be provided, made of more rigid material, like plastic ormetal, and may be structured for a paperboard or other container ofgowns to be placed in the outside container.

In the circumstance of a paperboard container, the container itself maybe throwaway, so when the last gown is withdrawn, the container is justdiscarded, and a new container full of gowns is placed for service. Inanother embodiment, gowns may be replaceable in pre-stacked groups,perhaps in a sanitary covering that may be removed. In this circumstancecontainer 202 may be of more sturdy construction, and may have a sideopening that may be opened to allow a new stack of gowns to be insertedfor use. In this circumstance the container may be designed to becleanable, to be kept in sanitary condition. In some cases, the openingfor a new stack of gowns may be in the top or bottom edge, or anywhereelse, such that the stack of gowns may be inserted.

FIG. 3 illustrates container 202 suspended on a door 301 by interfaces203 engaging the top of the door. Opening 204 faces outward, away fromdoor 301, positioned at a height between 5 and 6 feet in one embodiment.Opening 204 height is shown, and tab 106 may be seen extending out fromopening 204, such that a user may easily grab and pull on the tab.

FIG. 4A illustrates a user 402, who may be a doctor or nurse, forexample, reaching for and grasping tab 106 of a topmost gown incontainer 202 hung on door 301. In this example, it may be assumed thatthe door is entry to a hospital room or an operating theatre where agown may be mandatory.

FIG. 4B illustrates user 402, having pulled a gown 100 partly fromcontainer 202, and having pulled the gown over his/her head, with thehead now projected upward through opening 104 at the top of the upperportion of the gown. The folding of gown 100 and placement intocontainer 202 presents the tab 106 at a convenient height for the userto grasp the tab and pull the gown, and the placement of the gown withback facing outward allows the step of pulling the gown over the user'shead.

FIG. 4C illustrates a third step, wherein the user, with his or her headthrough opening 104 of the gown, releases the gown with the hand thatgrasped the tab, and simply steps backward one or two steps, away fromthe dispenser, which action causes gown 100 to fully draw out of thedispenser. At this point the front of the gown may fall down in front ofthe user, and the user may easily put his/her arms into the sleeves ofthe gown, and then tie the gown around the torso. This final step is notshown, but will be fully apparent to the skilled person.

In one embodiment, the dispenser, including container 102, and gowns inor to be placed into the container, are provided fully sterilized, andprotected in sterile form, into a sterile environment, such as anoperating theatre. In yet another embodiment gowns in this invention mayhave a tie tab from one gown physically connected to a portion of a nextgown in a stack. This version is useful in a procedure for donninggowns, that may be used in a sterile environment to preventcontamination in the process of donning a gown.

It is emphasized as well that gowns, to be compatible with aspects ofthis invention, need not be exactly the form and folding shown in FIGS.1a and 1b , but may be made in some cases considerably differently. Inone embodiment gowns provided for use in aspects of this invention havethumb holes in the ends of the sleeves, in a position that a wearer canpass his or her thumb through this opening, beforehand coverings areapplied, which prevents the arms of the gown from riding up when thewearer is busy in performing tasks.

It will also be apparent to the skilled person that the embodimentdescribed above with regard to FIGS. 1-4 c is an example, and notlimiting. The examples provided above are just that, examples, exemplaryof specific implementations of the invention, and not limiting. Theinvention has application far beyond provision of gowns in a hospitalsetting. Further, the gowns may be plastic or fabric of many sorts, andmay be designed and implemented in a variety of ways, and also folded ina variety of ways. There are many alterations to the gown, thecontainer, the openings, and the placement of the dispenser on avertical surface that will fall within the scope of the invention. Insome embodiments, the interfaces to the vertical surface may vary, bothin form and number. In some embodiments, the opening in the container topresent a gown for withdrawal may be different in shape and size. Thereare many options within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A gown dispenser system, comprising: a pluralityof gowns, each gown, unfolded, having an upper portion having a frontregion and the back region, a left and a right sleeve, each having anarm opening into the upper portion, of a length to cover an arm of aperson, and an upper head opening, the back region extending down to alower extremity of the arm openings into the upper portion, and a frontapron portion having a width from the left to the right sleeve,extending downward from the upper portion for a height to cover a majorportion of a person's body, the gowns folded and stacked with the backregion facing up, such that, grasping and pulling on the back region ofa gown on top of the stack removes that gown from the stack and exposesthe back region of the next gown in the stack; an enclosure containingthe stack of gowns with the back regions facing up, the enclosure havingan opening in one surface exposing the back region of the gown at thetop of the stack, enabling a user to grasp the exposed back region, andto pull the topmost gown from the enclosure, exposing the next gown inthe stack; and an interface mechanism attached to the enclosure,enabling the enclosure to be suspended on a substantially verticalsurface, with the opening facing outward from the substantially verticalsurface; wherein gowns are drawn from the enclosure one-at-a-time, atneed.
 2. The gown-dispenser system of claim 1, wherein a pull tab isattached to the back region of each gown in the stack, providing anappendage to be grasped to pull a gown from the enclosure.
 3. Thegown-dispenser system of claim 1 wherein the enclosure is implemented inpaperboard, with a portion of the paperboard on the one surface of theenclosure perforated in a shape to provide the opening, with thepaperboard within the perforated region removed.
 4. The gown-dispensersystem of claim 1 wherein the interface mechanism comprises one or morebrackets attached to a side of the container opposite the sideperforated for the opening, the brackets configured to enable hangingthe container from a top edge of a door.
 5. The gown-dispenser system ofclaim 1 wherein the gowns are folded by folding the left and rightsleeves to the front along edges of the front portion, and a lower partof the front portion upward to the front along a substantiallyhorizontal line, leaving the back region free at the back of the upperportion of the folded gown.
 6. The gown-dispenser system of claim 4wherein the front portion has tie extensions extending horizontally fromopposite edges of the front portion, at a height for tying the frontportion of the gown around the body of a user.
 7. A method for providinga gown to a user from a gown-dispensing system, comprising: folding aplurality of gowns into a stack of gowns, each gown, unfolded, having anupper portion having a front region and the back region, a left and aright sleeve, each having an arm opening into the upper portion, of alength to cover an arm of a person, and an upper head opening, the backregion extending down to a lower extremity of the arm openings into theupper portion, and a front apron portion having a width from the left tothe right sleeve, extending downward from the upper portion for a heightto cover a major portion of a person's body, a back region of each gownin the stack facing up, and placing the stack of gowns in an enclosurehaving a front and a back surface, the back surface having an openingexposing the back region of the top-most gown on the stack; supportingthe enclosure on a substantially vertical surface by an interfacemechanism with the opening in the back surface facing away from thesubstantially vertical surface; grasping the back region by a user andpulling a topmost gown out through the opening in the back surface,leaving a next gown in the stack having the back region exposed throughthe opening; and donning the gown.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein apull tab is attached to the back region of each gown in the stack, andwherein the pull tab is grasped to pull a gown from the enclosure. 9.The method of claim 7 wherein each gown in the stack has an upperportion having a front region and the back region, a left and a rightsleeve, each of a length to cover an arm of a person, and an upper headopening, the back region extending to a lower extremity of the left andright sleeves, a front apron portion, having a width from the left tothe right sleeve, extending downward from the upper portion for a heightto cover a major portion of a person's body below the extension of theleft and right sleeves, and the gowns are folded by folding the left andright sleeves to the front along edges of the front portion, and foldinga lower part of the front portion upward to the front along asubstantially horizontal line, leaving the back region free at the backof the upper portion of the folded gown, further comprising: the userpulling the upper portion over the user's head and placing the headthrough the upper head opening; and the user stepping back away from theenclosure, pulling the balance of the gown from the enclosure.